The Fourth Way and Esoteric Traditions
Rainer Maria Rilke[1] advises us that love is difficult. One reason for this is that our being is inclusive of others. We can see in each other only what we have in ourselves. As a contemporary spiritual teacher put it, “We are disappointed in others with what we are disappointed in ourselves.” Sharing one’s instinctive and […]
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George Gurdjieff informs us that conscience is to emotion what consciousness is to intellect. Both are a summation or entirety, one of feeling, the other of thought. As a contemporary spiritual teacher tells us, self-remembering, or presence, is always right action. He also said that conscience has to do with right action. The difference lies […]
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Schools of awakening exist because they are needed. By school we mean an entity devoted to the evolution of its students. At the head of a real school stands a conscious teacher. At the same time, a real school is directly monitored and nurtured by C Influence—Gods, or angels[1]. In order to define what a […]
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Religions of all kinds inform us that there are celestial beings. There are men and women that became immortal, who may be called gods or angels. In the Fourth Way, this is C Influence, an influence connected with a conscious source. Spiritual aspirants may be sufficiently lucky to be in touch with C Influence. It […]
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As a contemporary spiritual teacher assures us, essence is more real than personality. Dimensions of essence are one’s center of gravity[1], body type, and alchemy, the degree of refinement of the impressions[2] one takes in. Essence is the part in us that can grow into presence, or self-remembering. Alongside essence, each one of us has a […]
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Illumination implies a wordless state. For light to enter, a vessel must be clear and empty, or at least transparent. How does this connect with spiritual evolution? Thoughts comprise our inner world, known in the Fourth Way as the many ‘I’s. Not all ‘I’s are thoughts. We register many emotions, movements, and bodily sensations as […]
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Transformation implies change. In our case, a transition from the lower self, or the machine, to the higher self, third eye, or worlds 6 and 12[1]. Third eye is blessed by seeing things as they are. This the supreme reality Meher Baba[2] spoke of. If we are sincere, one of the first realizations in spiritual evolution […]
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What do we mean by ‘impressions’ and the fluidity of impressions? Fourth Way authors describe the human machine as a chemical factory subsisting on three types of food: Food and drink, air, and impressions. We can survive about a month without eating, and a few minutes without air. However, should we lack impressions, whether internal […]
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Higher forces come to dispel our vaporous ordinary state into something extraordinary. This is the battle we must wage in order to attain the stillness of our soul.
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As long as we identify with each fleeting sensation of ‘I’, we cannot awaken. Awakening means a gradual increase of inner unity. At the same time, we must remember that awakening is not only possible, it is within reach.
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